It brought the Dresden mother’s family closer, made her realize what’s really important in life, making the little things — such as the feel of her dog’s fur running through her fingers — seem more enjoyable.

So it’s no surprise that a huge smile breaks out across her face when she runs her fingers through the hair growing on her husband Claude’s face while waiting for an appointment at Victoria Hospital on Friday.

“I’m normally completely clean-shaven,” jokes Claude, who is growing a beard for Manuary, a fundraising campaign started in London four years ago to bring awareness to head and neck cancer research.

“I can’t grow a beard, but he can,” adds Kathy. “He’s nice and fuzzy right now.”

Kathy was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, after her doctor ordered an ultrasound to investigate what he thought was a swollen thyroid.

Three weeks later, the 44-year-old Dresden resident underwent a laryngectomy, leaving her using a stoma, a prosthetic speaking device in her neck.

And while the surgery to remove the tumour that was blocking 50% of the airway was successful, Poirier isn’t in the clear yet.

“I’m not cancer-free, and I’ll never be cancer-free,” notes the former bank manager, adding her form of cancer has a tendency to spread and chemotherapy treatments are effective only on a case-by-case basis.

“Do we make you sick to see if it works, or do we let you stay healthy as long as you’re healthy?” she says was the question posed by her oncologists. “We decided to stay healthy while we’re healthy and see what happens.”

And being healthy gives the parents of four adult children a chance to give back to a program that has given them a fighting chance.

“How else can I say thank you but to get involved in what they’re doing and their research?” says Kathy. “It’s because of research I’m still here. If they weren’t doing the research they’re doing, they wouldn’t know to do the surgeries they’re doing.”

Organizers hope to raise funds to help improve clinical care for patients such as Poirier, with the eventual goal of improving cure rates for patients with advanced cancers, which is about 50%.

For now, Kathy Poirier is happy just seeing another day.

“I’m humbled, and my life is great,” she says. “I’m thankful when I wake up, and I’m thankful when I go to bed.”